Hooghly Mills Company Limited Vs Acumen (J) Marketing Private Limited (Calcutta High Court)
Summary: The Calcutta High Court retrospectively extended an arbitral tribunal’s mandate through 8 August 2026, the date on which its award was passed. Hooghly Mills Company Limited had sought an extension under Section 29A(4) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
The Court had constituted the tribunal on 5 February 2021. After the pleadings were completed, its mandate was extended by six months with the parties’ consent. The Court granted further extensions on 21 January 2025 and 28 January 2026, for one year and six months respectively. The last extension expired before the arbitrator passed the award at 2:00 p.m. on 8 August 2026.
The respondent objected that the arbitrator had since been elevated to the Bench and was therefore incompetent to pass the award. The Court rejected that objection: the arbitrator assumed judicial office upon taking oath at 4:15 p.m. that day, after passing the award.
Finding no undue or unwarranted delay by the sole arbitrator and no demonstrated prejudice from the lapse in mandate, the Court extended the mandate retrospectively from the expiry of the previous extension up to and including 8 August 2026. It stated that the extension validated the arbitral proceedings and the award passed on that date, and disposed of the petition.
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